Léon Curmer

First edition of the Gospels in Pierre Dassance’s translation. In addition to the four Gospels, it contains an extensive section on Jerusalem with 2 hand-coloured maps and 10 mounted China-paper engravings. The edition is illustrated with 10 steel engravings within elaborate Renaissance-style borders featuring birds, angels, scrolling foliage, and ornamental motifs. Every page of text is likewise surrounded by decorative borders of several repeating designs. Chromolithographic frontispiece and opening page with hand-illuminated title vignette and large historiated initial. A finely produced edition issued by Curmer.

Contemporary full red morocco binding. Spine with raised bands omit

Rare first French edition of the travel impressions of Prince Soltykoff, more an adaptation than a strict translation (cf. Vicaire, VII, 575. Schwab, 544. Only two copies listed in the CCF).

Illustrated with a two-tone lithographed frontispiece and 20 tinted lithographic plates by Trayer and Émile Beau after drawings by the author.

Contemporary green half-shagreen binding, flat spine decorated with double gilt fillets and broad blind-stamped fillets, dark green paper-covered boards, minor restorations and rubbing to head and foot of joints, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, period binding.

Some superficial wear and very faint foxing, otherwise a pleasant copy in contempo

A fine edition complete with all 12 steel engravings with tissue guards after paintings by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Philippe de Champaigne, and Hyacinthe Rigaud, and its chromolithographic title page. Leafs containing the Discourse on Universal History  framed by floral, zoomorphic, figural and armorial interlaced borders. This copy is further enhanced with elaborate decorated initials and tailpieces, and a black-and-white frontispiece opening each part.

First edition, illustrated with 12 steel-engraved plates.

Contemporary full brown straight-grained morocco. Smooth spine decorated with large Romantic tools with date at foot. Covers with large blind Greek key border and gilt fillet frame. All edges gilt. Decorative gilt board-edges. White watered paper endpapers. Spine uniformly sunned, turned brown. One corner rubbed. Several gatherings browned. Handsome copy nonetheless, in contemporary morocco.

One of Curmer's famous and beautiful publications, who had just published in 1838 one of the most celebrated Romantic books: Paul et Virginie. An essential literary figure from the mid-19th century onwards, La bedollière,